Boots/low shoes accommodation shoe cupboard

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a shoe cupboard in which boots can easily be put into and taken out from the shoe cupboard, it is possible to prevent boots from losing their shapes, and low shoes can be accommodated if necessary. A shoe cupboard according to the present invention is characterized by containing a shoe cupboard body ( 1 ), boot holders ( 5 ) which are fixed to the shoe cupboard body ( 1 ), part or all of which are detachably mounted on a bar which extends in a horizontal direction, which boot holders can rotate forward and backward around an axis and move laterally, and a low shoes shelf or shelves ( 4 ) which can be held in a horizontal position after the boot holder ( 5 ) is detached, so that a boot(s) is held upside down and is accommodated on the boot holder.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a shoe cupboard in which boots and low shoes can be accommodated. More specifically, the invention relates to a shoe cupboard in which it is possible to prevent boots from losing their shapes when accommodating the boots, it is easy to take boots out from and put the boots in the shoe cupboard, and low shoes can also be accommodated if necessary.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventionally, a shoe cupboard is not provided with a sufficient space for accommodating boots, the boots are put in a place other than the shoe cupboard, or put in a box, or bent and accommodated. The boots accommodated in such a manner lose their shapes or material thereof is deteriorated, and it is not easy to put boots into and take boots from the shoe cupboard.

JP-A 55-120815 discloses a rod-like boot stand mounted in the shoe cupboard. JP-A 55-120815 discloses that a boot is reversely held over the rod-like boot stand, the rod-like boot stand is mounted on each of both ends of rotation shaft which is rotatably mounted on a base stage. The base stage is mounted on a bottom plate of the shoe cupboard, and is incorporated in a boot accommodating section. JP-A 55-120815 describes that the boot stands are provided in the longitudinal direction, rear boot stands are longer than front boot stands so that a large number of boots can easily be accommodated. However, the rod-like boot stands are not detachable, and the shoe cupboard having the rod-like boot stands can not accommodate low shoes instead of boots.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Hence, it is an object of the present invention to provide a shoe cupboard (geta-bako) in which boots can easily be put into and taken out from the shoe cupboard, it is possible to prevent boots from losing their shapes, and low shoes can be accommodated instead of boots if necessary.

The present invention provides a shoe cupboard comprising a shoe cupboard body, boot holders part or all of which are detachably mounted on a bar which extends in a horizontal direction, which boot holders can rotate forward and backward around an axis and move laterally, and a low shoes shelf or shelves which can be held in a horizontal position after the boot holder is detached, so that a boot or boots may be held upside down and is accommodated on the boot holder.

The bar horizontally extends between sidewalls of the shoe cupboard body, and the boot holder is mounted on the bar such that it can rotate forward and backward around an axis and move laterally. The boot is held upside down and accommodated on the boot holder to prevent the boot from losing its shape. Part or all of boot holders can be detached from the bar if necessary. After the boot holder is detached, the low shoes shelf is held at the horizontal position, and a space for accommodating a boot is changed to a space for accommodating low shoes.

The bar can be formed into a cylindrical shape or a columnar shape using metal, plastic, wood or a known material suitable for forming the bar. Examples of material for forming the boot holder are cloth, leather, plastic, metal and wood, but other known materials suitable for holding a boot may be used. The shape of the boot holder is not limited only if the boot holder can hold a boot and does not change its shape. Examples of the shape of the boot holder are a cylindrical shape, a rod-like shape, and a substantially cylindrical shape whose outward size is changed from its base portion close to the bar toward the tip end.

The T-shaped holder may be loosely fitted over the bar so that the T-shaped holder may rotate forward and backward around an axis and move laterally, and the boot holder can be mounted on the bar through the T-shaped holder. The T-shaped holder may be made of plastic or metal, but other known materials may be used. It is preferable that the boot holder is provided with a convex portion, the T-shaped holder is formed with a concave portion and the convex portion is fitted into the concave portion, thereby fixing the boot holder to the T-shaped holder. On the contrary, the boot holder may be formed with the concave portion, the T-shaped holder may be provided with the convex portion, and the boot holder may be fixed to the T-shaped holder using the concave portion and the convex portion.

It is preferable that the shoe cupboard includes a limiting member which limits a forward and backward rotation range of the boot holder. The limiting member may comprise a projection provided on the bar, and a slit formed in the T-shaped holder which co-operates with the projection, or a limiting bar which extends in parallel to the bar and which abuts against the T-shaped holder. The forward and backward rotation range of the boot holder may freely be set and the limiting member may be provided so that boots can easily be put in and taken out from the shoe cupboard. The boot holder can be constituted such that a portion of the boot turns from a substantially vertical position where the boot is accommodated to a position where a portion of the boot projects from a front surface of the shoe cupboard body so that the boot can easily be put in and taken out from the shoe cupboard. The turning range of the boot holder can be set from substantially vertical 0° to 45°, preferable from 0° to 30°.

The low shoe shelf may be fixed to the shoe cupboard body so that it can turn with respect to the shoe cupboard body, or the low shoe shelf can be detached from the shoe cupboard body. When the low shoe shelf is fixed such that it can turn, the low shoe shelf is fixed to a rear portion of the shoe cupboard body by means of a hinge, and when the boot holder is mounted on the bar, or when the low shoe shelf is not used, the low shoe shelf may be placed against the rear portion of the shoe cupboard body and accommodated in the shoe cupboard. It is preferable to hold the low shoe shelf at the horizontal position by a dowel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 are schematic diagrams showing one embodiment of a shoe cupboard according to the present invention, wherein a boot holder is mounted on a bar such that the boot holder can rotate forward and backward around an axis and move laterally;

FIG. 2 show a shoe cupboard according to an embodiment of the invention which can be utilized as a shoe cupboard for low shoes if all of boot holders are detached and then a low shoe shelf is turned;

FIG. 3 show a turning mechanism of boot holders according to an embodiment of the invention, wherein the bar is provided with a projection, and the projection limits the turning motion of the boot holder; and

FIG. 4 show a turning mechanism for boot holders according to another embodiment of the invention, wherein a limiting bar extending in parallel to the bar is provided, and turning motion of the boot holder is limited by the limiting bar.

EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS

-   1 shoe cupboard body -   2 T-shaped holder -   3 bar -   4 low shoes shelf -   5 boot holder -   6 limiting bar -   7 dowel -   8 projection -   9 slit -   11 convex portion -   12 concave portion

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a boots/low shoes accommodation shoe cupboard according to an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, two bars 3 extends horizontally between both side surfaces of a shoe cupboard body 1, and the bars 3 are fixed to the side surfaces of the shoe cupboard body 1. Four T-shaped holders 2 are disposed on each bar 3. Boot holders 5 are detachably attached to the T-shaped holders 2. The T-shaped holders 2 can rotate forward and backward with respect to the bar 3 and can move laterally in a state where the boot holders 5 are attached to the T-shaped holders 2. Although four T-shaped holders 2 are provided on each bar 3 in this embodiment, the number of T-shaped holders 2 can be increased or decreased in accordance with a width of the shoe cupboard body 1 or sizes of boots to be accommodated.

In this embodiment, the bar 3 comprises a metal cylinder, and both the T-shaped holder 2 and the boot holder 5 are made of plastic. The boot holder 5 is formed into a substantially columnar shape whose central portion has the greatest diameter.

FIG. 1B is a sectional view taken along the line A-A' in FIG. 1A, and schematically shows a state where four low shoes shelves 4 are placed against a deep wall of the shoe cupboard body. This drawing shows that the boot holder 5 which receives a upside down placed boot is rotated forward and backward around an axis together with the T-shaped holder 2. In this embodiment, the boot holder 5 is turned from a substantially vertical position to a position which is inclined forward by about 45°.

FIG. 2A shows a state in which all of the boot holders 5 are removed from the boots/low shoes accommodation shoe cupboard shown in FIG. 1A, the low shoes shelves 4 which are placed against the deep wall are turned forward and are held at the horizontal position. FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along the line D-D′ in FIG. 2A, front portions of the low shoes shelves 4 are supported by the dowels 7. In the state shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the boots/low shoes accommodation shoe cupboard functions as a shoe cupboard having a space for accommodating low shoes only. Although FIGS. 2A and 2B show that the low shoes shelves 4 which are turnably fixed are utilized, detachable low shoes shelves can be used instead of the turnable low shoes shelves 4.

FIG. 3A shows a state where the boot holder 5 is mounted on the T-shaped holder 2. In this embodiment, a lower convex portion 11 of the boot holder 5 is inserted into a concave portion 12 formed in an upper portion of the T-shaped holder 2 and with this, the boot holder 5 is mounted on and fixed to the T-shaped holder 2.

FIG. 3B is a sectional view taken along the line B-B′ in FIG. 3A, and shows a cross section of the T-shaped holder 2 mounted on the bar 3. A concave portion 12 is formed in an upper portion of the T-shaped holder 2 so as to receive the boot holder 5. A lower portion of the T-shaped holder 2 is loosely fitted over the bar 3 such that the T-shaped holder 2 can rotate forward and backward around an axis and move laterally. In this embodiment, the bar 3 is formed with a projection 8, and a slit 9 which co-operates with the projection 8 is formed in the lower portion of the T-shaped holder 3. The projection 8 limits the turning range of the T-shaped holder or the boot holder. In the embodiment shown here, the T-shaped holder 2 can turn forward from a substantially vertical position by about 45°, but this angle may be set to any angle suitable for bringing boots into and out from the shoe cupboard in accordance with size of boots to be accommodated and size of the shoe cupboard body, and this angle may be set to 30° for example.

FIG. 4A shows an embodiment in which a turning range of the T-shaped holder 2 is limited by a limiting bar 6 provided between sidewalls of the shoe cupboard body 1 in parallel to the bar 3. In this embodiment also, the convex portion 11 of the lower portion of the boot holder 5 is fitted into the concave portion 12 formed in the upper portion of the T-shaped holder 2 and with this, the boot holder 5 is mounted on and fixed to the T-shaped holder 2.

FIG. 4B is a sectional view taken along the line C-C′ in FIG. 4A, and shows, in detail, a state where the turning range of the T-shaped holder 2 mounted on the bar 3 is limited by the limiting bar 6. The limiting bar 6 is disposed such that it abuts against an upper portion of the T-shaped holder 2, and the T-shaped holder 2 abuts against the limiting bar 6, thereby limiting the turning motion. In this embodiment, the T-shaped holder 2 or the boot holder 5 stops at a position away from the vertical position by about 45°. Like the case shown in FIG. 3, any angle may be set as an angle at which boots can easily be brought into and out from the shoe cupboard.

The boots/low shoes accommodation shoe cupboard of the present invention is useful for accommodating boots and low shoes, it is easy to put boots in and take boots from the boots/low shoes accommodation shoe cupboard, and it is possible to prevent boots from losing their shapes when they are accommodated in the shoe cupboard. 

1. A shoe cupboard comprising a shoe cupboard body (1), boot holders (5) which are fixed to the shoe cupboard body (1), part or all of which are detachably mounted on a bar which extends in a horizontal direction, which boot holders can rotate forward and backward around an axis and move laterally, and a low shoes shelf or shelves (4) which can be held in a horizontal position after the boot holder (5) is detached, so that a boot(s) is held upside down and is accommodated on the boot holder.
 2. The shoe cupboard according to claim 1, wherein the boot holder (5) is mounted on the bar (3) through a T-shaped holder (2) which is loosely fitted over the bar (3).
 3. The shoe cupboard according to claim 2, wherein the boot holder (5) is provided with a convex portion (11), the T-shaped holder (2) is provided with a concave portion (12), the convex portion (11) is fitted into the concave portion (12), thereby fixing the boot holder (5) to the T-shaped holder (2).
 4. The shoe cupboard according to claim 1, further comprising a limiting member which limits a forward and backward rotation range of the boot holder (5).
 5. The shoe cupboard according to claim 4, wherein the limiting member comprises a projection (8) provided on the bar (3), and a slit (9) formed in the T-shaped holder (2) which co-operates with the projection (8).
 6. The shoe cupboard according to claim 4, wherein the limiting member comprises a limiting bar (6) which extends in parallel to the bar (3) and which abuts against the T-shaped holder (2).
 7. The shoe cupboard according to claim 1, wherein when the low shoes shelf (4) is fixed to a rear portion of the shoe cupboard body (1) by means of a hinge and the boot holder (5) is mounted on the bar (3), the low shoes shelf (4) is placed against a rear portion of the shoe cupboard body (1).
 8. The shoe cupboard according to claim 1, wherein the low shoes shelf (4) is detachable.
 9. The shoe cupboard according to claim 1, wherein the low shoes shelf (4) is supported by a dowel (7).
 10. The shoe cupboard according to claim 1, wherein the boot holder (5) turns from a vertical position by an angle of 45°, preferably by 30°. 